Breakout Nu Sentral : So Much Fun That You’ll Wish You Were Stuck In There Longer

The first time I came to know about Breakout was when I was walking past Breakout Avenue K. I was wondering what it was all about because other than a counter and some posters, everything was bare. Then a few days later, I walked past Breakout Nu Sentral (they’d only opened a few days then) and I just wanted to know more!

Breakout is an indoor adventure game which tests your logic, deduction and maths skills (I have absolutely zero maths skills!). It’s an unconventional escape game in which participants are locked in a small, confined space and have to look around the room for clues in order to get into the next room and the next until they can find the key to get them out of the room.

Each Breakout outlet has different storylines and themes so you can try them all out with friends, family and colleagues. Indeed, this is a great game for bonding and you need to rely on each other, teamwork is essential here. You only have 45 minutes plus an extra 5 minutes (if you really need it) in order to make your escape. Not really for the claustrophobic but for everyone else, it’s a whole lot of fun and excitement.

The puzzles can be very mind-boggling and often, you will be wondering where the heck the clues are and even when you do find the clues, you’ll be left pondering on how to come up with a figure that will lead you to the next clue. So you are in one locked room after another and some of the challenges involve light physical activity like climbing on ladders and crawling into a bunker.

One fine Saturday morning more than 2 weeks ago, I met my eager-beaver Breakout team at Breakout Nu Sental. There were 6 of us altogether and the Breakout management had very kindly allowed me a complimentary game of my choice. We’d decided on Materia Medica which has a rating of 4/5 difficulty. Maybe not the best game for Breakout beginners but I was so intrigued with the theme.

Firstly, punctuality is very important as each game starts at a specific time. So if your game starts at 10am, make sure you are there on the dot as a briefing will be given by the Game Master. You will be given a synopsis of the story, e.g. Materia Medica has this theme:-

A mysterious physician called Han appeared in the small town of Wu Shan one day and immediately became famous among villagers for his remarkable medicine and healing abilities. As the previous top physician in the village, you are determined to find out the secret of this mysterious man’s background and the ingredients of his miraculous medicine. On a quiet evening, while the physician is away on an errand, you quickly sneak in with your assistants to gather what information you can in hopes of recreating the same medicine.

Sounds so interesting, doesn’t it? I would love to be transported back to ancient China and sneak into a physician’s dwelling to find out the ingredients of his miraculous medicine. The Game Master will brief participants on the “do’s” and “don’ts” while in the rooms. Some previous participants have been known to look for clues up on the ceiling but there’s nothing there and don’t bother looking behind masks and other fittings either.

Each participant takes on a character with special abilities which makes the whole experience even more fun. It’s like being a superhero character. Check out the characters here. I liked being The Scholar, the one who has the ability to request for one direct hint during gameplay. Some characters could be 2 players like The Oracle who is shown a photograph of a particular area of the game cube containing clues or answers before the start of the game.

At any time at all, we could ask the Game Master to come in to provide indirect hints sometimes at the expense of an object in our possession like a torchlight which by the way, is an essential item as some of the rooms we ended up in can be very dark. It’s comforting to know that we could call on the Game Master any time.

Our bags, handphones and cameras had to be left in a locker and away we went on our 1st Breakout adventure. We were already stuck in the 1st room for far too long and although we managed to get into the 2nd room, that was the one which had us stumped for the longest time. I admit I wasn’t much help since the puzzle involved some calculation and I am always lost at sea when it comes to numbers. Let’s just say I was an observer. My team mates were very good and although we eventually managed to get out of the dimly lit room with masks and medicine cabinets, we didn’t manage  to break out of Materia Medica within 50 minutes (the Time Bender character asked for an extra 5 minutes). It all gets very exciting in the last 5-10 minutes as everyone scrambles around and shouts out numbers in the hope of finding the correct combination.

So we were beaten by Materia Medica. After the game is over, the Game Master will ask you what part of the game you found particularly challenging and explain the solution. Not that it made any difference to me, I would still be stuck in the same room if I was left alone. That first game was such a good experience that we all agreed to pay for the 2nd game immediately and this time, we chose the less complex Dreadnought which has a difficulty level of 3/5. Now if we couldn’t get out of that one either, we might as well hang our heads in shame but fear not as there are certainly very brainy participants in my team.

I was very impressed with the friendliness and approachability of the Game Master for Materia Medica. She was very professional and she made the game run smoothly. Every time we pressed the buzzer for assistance, she’d materialize in front if us within a few seconds. I believe we called for the Game Master a lot more in the 1st game than the 2nd game.

Okay for the 2nd game, we chose Dreadnought which has this theme:-

127 years ago, the world survived a catastrophic ice age known as the Whiteout and is now going through the aftermath of this global crisis, which blanketed lands with water and reduced the human population by large numbers. Nations now live on giant arks known as Dreadnought, which are able to sustain ecosystem and life on a smaller scale. Only a small percentage of land remains and every 20 years, candidates will be picked at random to be transported to this land to live out their remaining lives. Being the chosen ones selected this time, you and the rest board the transport vessel with glimmering excitement to finally see land for the first time.

Yup, we were all stuck on a ship and the first thing we did was look for clues in the Electrical Manual Sailor’s Edition. From then on, it was running between 2 rooms trying to figure out how to find land. I preferred Dreadnought to Materia Medica simply because my mind could digest what was going on far easier than during Materia Medica. In this game, we were successful and managed to escape within 50 minutes, in the nick of time.

Being successful at a Breakout game earned us badges – each of us were given a badge for the character we played during the game. Now if that isn’t a badge of honour, I don’t know what is 🙂

Would I do this again? In a heartbeat. I may not have proven I have fantastic mental and analytical skills but with a bit more Breakout experience, who knows? I’ve got my sight set on Breakout Avenue K next. Let’s just say some of the games are going to be more challenging than others but you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to BREAKOUT!

To recap :-Each game takes 45 minutes. Players will be locked inside each game room and they will start with different scenarios such as handcuffed, trapped or even caged based on the storyline. They will need to use their wits, skills and teamwork to solve the puzzles and breakout from the rooms using the clues given. To add a twist to the game, characters with special abilities will be introduced to instill analytical, time management, decision-making and strategizing skills among players.

Highly recommended for people of all ages. Visit www.breakout.com.my for more information.